Hydrocarbons are widely used as a primary source of energy, and have a significant impact on the world economy. Consequently, the discovery and efficient production of hydrocarbon resources is increasingly important. As relatively accessible hydrocarbon deposits are depleted, hydrocarbon prospecting and production has expanded to new regions that may be more difficult to reach and/or may pose new technological challenges. During typical operations, a borehole is drilled into the earth, whether on land or below the sea, to reach a reservoir containing hydrocarbons. Such hydrocarbons are typically in the form of oil, gas, or mixtures thereof which may then be brought to the surface through the borehole.
Well testing is often performed to help evaluate the possible production value of a reservoir. During well testing, a test well is drilled to produce a test flow of fluid from the reservoir. During the test flow, key parameters such as fluid pressure and fluid flow rate are monitored over a time period. The response of those parameters may be determined during various types of well tests, such as pressure drawdown, interference, reservoir limit tests, and other tests generally known by those skilled in the art. The data collected during well testing may be used to assess the economic viability of the reservoir. The costs associated with performing the testing operations may be significant, however, and therefore testing operations should be performed as efficiently and economically as possible.
Fluids produced from the test well are typically disposed of by burning, which raises environmental and safety concerns. For example, conventional burners may not completely combust the well fluids, thereby releasing black smoke and other pollutants into the surrounding environment. To reduce the amount of smoke produced during well test burning, many have proposed (such as at U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,565,562; 3,894,831; 4,419,071; and 5,096,124) to inject water into the flame, thereby to decrease the combustion temperature. Another approach, disclosed in British Patent No. GB 2,307,294, provides a burner that injects an air/water mixture into a combustion zone to reduce black smoke and other pollutants. These approaches require significant amounts of water, often in volumes greater than the amount of fluid produced during well testing. If sea water is used, as is typical for offshore well sites, chlorine and other deleterious compounds may be released into the environment. Additionally, because the hydrocarbon content of the well effluent may vary, these previous devices may cause incomplete combustion of the effluent, thereby releasing pollutants as well as unburned hydrocarbon effluent into the surrounding area.